Overview of Plantronics BackBeat Sense. musical euphoria

We have known Plantronics' BackBeat line for several years. To this day, I remember the Pro model, which had great sound, but was still a bit big for me. But now, Plantronics has a BackBeat Sense model. A compact, open-back headset that shares many of the details of the Pro, but is much sleeker. And of course, with the original design, as the company knows how to do it. Let's take a closer look at this model.

Options and appearance Plantronics BackBeat Sense

In the store you will receive a headset in a beautiful white box. In fact, this is just a wrapper, and the box inside it is black. It looks premium, however, these headphones are really top-end, and they cost a lot. At the start of sales, they could be bought for 12,990 rubles, but now the price varies around 10,000 rubles.

Plantronics BackBeat Sense box

Opening the box… The inside of the lid says “Designed in Santa Cruiz, California”. Designers from California are not in vain eating their bread, I must tell you, the headset really looks very cool.

Plantronics BackBeat Sense open box

In addition to the gadget itself, in the box I found a branded case with a pocket for wires, a microUSB cable, an audio cable with a control panel, quite strong, which means it will last a long time, as well as documentation (but why would a Russian person need it, right?).

Plantronics BackBeat Sense audio cable with remote control

Let's move on to the Plantronics BackBeat Sense headset itself. Her headband is metal, but thanks to special slots, the design is lightweight to the maximum. Indeed, the headset is practically not felt on the head. Even after long work at the computer, there is no discomfort in these ears.

Plantronics BackBeat Sense metal shackle with slots

There is a Plantronics logo on the temple, as well as special risks. They are needed to push the headband the same distance on both sides. Or, if not only you use them at home, you can remember your size and not set up the headphones again every time, just pushing the bow to the desired number.

Plantronics BackBeat Sense shackle scratches

In addition to the bow itself, the headphones are kept on the head due to the soft jumper on top. The ear pads of the headset are flat, made of eco-leather. The solution is good, but my ears sweat a little in the headset. However, this is due to the ambient temperature, and I don’t remember headphones of a similar design, in which the ears do not heat up. Each Plantronics BackBeat Sense ear cushion has a perforation that also indicates whether it is a left or right speaker. The cups are made of plastic, but they look nice, although the dust on them is visible, but this is due to the black color, and not because of the material. In addition, the cups rotate 360 degrees, so you can adjust to fit any ear.

Plantronics BackBeat Sense Ear Cushions

The buttons are very minimalist and all rubberized. On the left are buttons to control the player and a lever to increase and decrease the volume. On the right is a button for answering a call (it also activates Siri or Google Assistant). There is also a lever to turn on the headset (if you use a Bluetooth connection), a 3.5 mm audio jack and a microUSB port for charging.

Left cup Plantronics BackBeat Sense
Plantronics BackBeat Sense Right Cup

The headset also has a second modification, white with brown ear pads. But to be honest, I like the combination of black and brown more, it looks more stylish, or something.

Plantronics BackBeat Sense in white

Features Plantronics BackBeat Sense

Sense is not only a beautiful and easy-to-remember name, not only a hint of the lightness of the headset, but also a reference to the sensors that are in the headset. There are sensors here that determine whether the headphones are on or not. For example, if you remove Plantronics BackBeat Sense from your head, the music will automatically stop. And if you receive a call when the headset is on the table, then simply by putting it on you will answer the call. Conveniently? In my opinion, very much.

It all works, of course, only if you are connected via Bluetooth. When using an audio cable, none of the chips work, you can only listen to music and talk through the headset, nothing more. Bluetooth is Class 1 here, which means that at a distance of up to 100 meters the headset will be paired with a smartphone or tablet, however, I don’t think that you will ever have to move away from the phone at such a distance. By the way, the headset can be connected to two devices at the same time, for example, a laptop and a smartphone. This will come in handy if you are listening to music from your laptop, but when you receive a call, you will be able to answer it.

Another interesting feature that has been carried over to the Sense from the Plantronics BackBeat Pro is OpenMic. The button to activate it is on the bottom left cup (red button in the photo above). This feature turns on the microphones in the headset and starts sending sound to the speakers. Thus, if you are on the subway and need to listen to station announcements, or you are walking down the street and need to talk to a person, you can leave the headset on. Just press the button, the music is paused (when you press the button again, the music will play again) and you can hear what is happening around. This is very convenient, especially considering that without this function, almost nothing is heard in the headset, the sound insulation is good here.

Buttons on Plantronics BackBeat Sense

The headset works on a single charge for about 18 hours of music playback, which is very good. If you use it only on the way to and from work, you can charge it once a week. It will take about 2-3 hours to fully charge.

By the way, there is also a proprietary Plantronics Hub application for the headset. There you can update the software, change the notification language (as many as 14 are available), enable or disable voice notifications, enable or disable the sensor. In addition, you can search for a headset by sending a signal to it if you don’t remember where you put it in the apartment or who left it on the table in the office.

Plantronics BackBeat Sense Sound and Experience

The Plantronics BackBeat Sense speakers are large, 32mm. They are optimized to work with mobile devices, which is clear from the Bluetooth 4.0 profile. The headset supports aptX and AAC codecs, so it has plenty of options. Another question is that smartphones and players are not always able to play such a sound. However, even on standard tracks from Yandex.Music, the headset behaves well. The sound quality is on the level, there are basses, volume is felt and at the same time there are no artifacts or connection breaks, which wireless headphones often sin.

Headset Plantronics BackBeat Sense

I liked the soundproofing in this headset. Of course, comparing it with the closed BackBeat Pro is stupid, it is several orders of magnitude better there. Here, however, some sounds are heard from the outside, and those around you will know what you are listening to if you turn it on to the maximum (but try not to go deaf at the same time). But for such a form factor, the insulation is at the level, strong 4+.

Plantronics has once again made a great headset. Although I would use it more as headphones, the microphone is needed here not only for calls, but also in order to hear the surrounding sounds when necessary. I have no complaints about the design or functionality. Unless the ears sweat a little in leather ear cushions, but these are already features of a hot summer and each individual person. And in the rest, BackBeat Sense work out their rather big cost (about 10,000 rubles).

Design 10

The Plantronics BACKBEAT SENSE Black headphones work wirelessly with Bluetooth. Provide the user with high quality stereo sound. Designed for a good rest while listening to music and communication. The model has an unusual design with a thin, weightless headband, a soft jumper on top and buttons on the speaker cup. With a simple tap on the left earpiece, you can switch the audio track and stop or play music.

If you buy Plantronics BACKBEAT SENSE headphones (202649-01), the user will be completely immersed in music thanks to the closed speaker design and pleasant sound at all frequencies.

Communication with headphones in one language

Intelligent systems simplify interaction with the device. The wireless model is equipped with sensors to stop and start playing music when removing and putting on stereo headphones.

Buying Plantronics BACKBEAT SENSE headphones means listening to audio at a great distance from your smartphone, the maximum distance between the base unit and the device is up to 100 m. Supports simultaneous control of 2 smartphones, tablets.

Always be online

Full immersion creates speaker isolation and long-term operation from a single charge. Doing your daily activities will not interfere with listening to audio tracks thanks to the built-in battery with a battery life of up to 18 hours. After the charge is exhausted, the charging cable is directly connected to the Bluetooth headphones, you do not have to remove the headphones. When a call comes in, the music will pause.

Ultimate user comfort

The Plantronics Bluetooth BACKBEAT SENSE stereo headphones feature soft ear cushions. The material includes a memory effect, adapts to the user, eliminating pressure on the ears. Self-adjusting headband improves comfort. It's easy to forget about headphones if it weren't for the clear sound of music. If you need to hear external sounds, the OpenMic function is activated, transmitting sound from the microphone to the speakers.

If the user cannot find the headphones, it is possible to turn on the beeper or use the BackTrack feature to determine the last location of use.

Model Benefits

Plantronics BACKBEAT SENSE headphones are a delight with:

built-in Bluetooth system 1 class. Plays music at a maximum distance of 100 m from a transmitting device that supports remote control;
work the entire period of wakefulness, up to 18 hours of battery power;
smart sensor technology. When removing and putting on the device, music streaming stops;
Multipoint technology with support for up to 2 wireless devices simultaneously;
voice control;
effective noise reduction system;
high-quality sound with DSP technology.

At IFA, many journalists from Europe will just get acquainted with the new Plantronics BackBeat Sense headset, but we offer you a review. An interesting product for 12,990 rubles, perhaps the most interesting in this format...

Design, construction

A bit of history. Plantronics has been developing the BackBeat line for quite a long time, these are stereo headsets of various formats. A lot has changed since the release of the first device. The unsightly appearance is a thing of the past, and now the BackBeat line can be safely set as an example to some other manufacturers. There was a division into several branches, except for the simplest Go (the most compact wireless headphones), you can choose BackBit Fit for sports or BackBeat Pro, large on-ear headphones with many interesting features.

Slowly, little by little, and people begin to recognize Plantronics, to be interested in products. I dare to suggest that after the release of Pro in Russia, many not only heard about the brand for the first time, but (I hope) were satisfied.

What do they want to say in Plantronics? It seems to me that the idea is very simple, high-tech products can also be beautiful and comfortable. To offer the consumer a little more than others, isn't that a dream for any modern brand? It is encouraging that so far Plantronics is succeeding. Ready to show this with Sense as an example.

The packaging is very high quality, the photographs of ocean waves set you up for philosophical thoughts, the name is chosen very accurately. On the one hand, Sense is a hint at the sensors built into the cups. On the other hand, it shows the lightness of the device. Well, and, of course, this is a sonorous and memorable name, not like BHH-852W. Many companies should learn and adopt such a naming system, it is easier for people to make a choice when a thing has a name. In a beautiful box, under a layer of wrapping paper, there is a cover made of light hard fabric, it has two pockets, the main one for a headset and an additional one for cables. MicroUSB cable of its own design, a nice little thing. The additional cable is quite thick, with a large and convenient remote control. The headset works great in passive mode, that is, when the battery runs out, you can plug in the cable and use the remote control. Compatible with all Apple devices, from smartphones to computers. Design of the cable in the style of the company, the plug is curved. With a wired connection, the buttons on the headset itself do not work.

In life, Sense is much smaller and sleeker than in the pictures. The thin metal headband feels weightless due to the cutouts in the center, but it's nice that they didn't forget the risks to push the same sections on the left and right. Engraved with company name, another nice detail. On the head, the headset is held not only by ear pads, but also by a jumper on top. The cups are flat, small, reminiscent of Pro in style - microphones are hidden under the perforation, the buttons are covered with rubber pads, the main material is plastic. But the headset doesn't look cheap like the Pro, it's a tech item where it's pretty hard to tell the price at first glance. The buttons are well designed, by the way, there is a “jog” on the left cup, turning it from side to side, you can adjust the volume. On the right is a multifunctional button for answering a call, there is also a neat light indicator - several dots. To activate the pairing mode, you need to move the power lever, however, I will not dwell on the control features, everything is written in.

The cups are extremely curiously decorated, this is brown eco-leather, the designations R and L are immediately applied, you choose right away, and it is impossible to make a mistake. The purple base is visible through the perforation, the color is reminiscent of Pro, such continuity is very pleasing.

After a couple of days of use, I can say that dust and hairs do not accumulate much here, given that different materials and textures are used, Sense looks good all the time.

A little about management. On the left are the playback buttons, they are pressed very well, and not tight, and not soft. There is a fast forward, the ability to turn off the microphone. The call can be answered not only by pressing a button, but if you put the headset on your head when it is on the table, the sensors will work.

Here's how the headset looks on the head.

Not to say it's too big.

The headset is available in two versions, white with brown and black with brown. I like the option that appears in the review.

Convenience

I decided to talk separately about ergonomics, since you always expect a catch from such headsets - some look great in pictures, but in life they sit absolutely disgusting. This is not a Sense story, here the cups are flat, and they have a rather large diameter, the memory foam is moderately soft, so the fit is very comfortable. The light headband is not felt, as is the jumper under it. Ear cushions and eco-leather trim, but I already wrote about this above. For ergonomics, the rating is "excellent".

Peculiarities

Bluetooth Class 1 is supported, which means an extended range of work with a wide variety of devices (this does not depend on the Bluetooth class of your device). The work is declared at a distance of 100 meters, in reality you are unlikely to move away from the smartphone at such a distance. At home, you can listen to the headset everywhere, there are no artifacts. The ear cups have built-in sensors, when you take off the Sense, the music is paused, as soon as the headphones are on your ears, the playback continues. The function is useful and works great, but there is one complaint, if you move the cup, playback may be interrupted. After that, the sensors stop working, you need to remove and put on Sense again.

It is possible to work with two devices at the same time, for example, with a laptop and a smartphone, you can listen to music and immediately answer an incoming call. Given that everything is in order with the quality of speech transmission, this is a very real scenario for an office or if you work at home in a cafe.

OpenMic function

An extremely curious function, on the left earpiece there is a button to turn on OpenMic, the microphones in the headset begin to amplify the surrounding sounds, but not to extreme values, but, let's say, just for your reference. For example, behind the wall in the apartment I hear the kettle humming, how the iPad works with a movie - I can't hear it without Sense. That is, it's like tactical headphones, they amplify the sounds of steps in the grass, they dampen the sound of a shot. How useful is the feature? You can talk to someone without removing your headphones. Well, or you can even overhear something. If you buy Sense, be sure to try it - you can listen through the wall what is happening in another room. The conversation may not be entirely intelligible, although who knows.

When using OpenMic, playback is paused, then resumed.

Working hours

Claimed battery life is 18 hours of music playback at full volume, charging uses a traditional microUSB connector. There are voice prompts about the operating time, you can choose from 14 languages. Charging takes about 2.5 hours. The DeepSleep function is supported, the headset goes into sleep mode and does not consume battery power.

Plantronics Hub

The program is available for Windows and Mac, there is also a version for mobile devices, but the computer has more features. What are these opportunities?

Change language for notifications, 14 languages available
Software Update
Turn voice notifications on and off. Let me remind you that notifications here will help you understand the remaining battery life, connection status. Russian language is supported.
Switching the sensor on and off

There are a number of other functions as well. After installing the program, I tried to connect Sense, but nothing happened, the program did not see the headset. Nothing has changed after a reboot. Perhaps the device is simply not supported yet.

Then I downloaded the mobile version for iOS. It is indicated that the program includes a utility for the Apple Watch, I will try this later. What is there?

You can find the headset by sending a signal to it
View operating instructions

And that's it. There are no settings here. To put it mildly, the functionality leaves much to be desired. We are waiting for the normal version for computers to appear.

Music and sound

The quality of speech transmission during a conversation is at a good level, you can calmly talk to a person without raising your voice too much. This is a big plus, it seriously expands the functionality of the model. There is support for DSP based on two microphones.

If we talk about music, there are also a lot of interesting things. aptX and AAC are supported, 32 mm speakers are optimized for working with mobile devices, Bluetooth 4.0 profile, the class is mentioned above. The distance here is amazing. Passive noise isolation for a C grade, but this is not Pro either, so I won’t scold it. The sound quality, as always, depends on the track and the device, if your gadget supports aptX, then Sense will reveal its capabilities even more. But even with the iPhone 6, the sound quality is very good, there are no artifacts inherent in wireless models, you can feel the volume, the headset copes well with music of different genres. Sound-wise, it's not a BackBeat Pro, down a notch, but I'm sure most consumers will rate the Sense's sound a five.

conclusions

An interesting moment, if the headset is on the table and you put it on to listen to music, you will hear a notification about the battery charge and the connected device. This triggers the sensor. A trifle, but pleasant. And in general, the whole Sense consists of such nice little things. Modern headset in the spirit of the times. The price in Russia is already known, it is 12,990 rubles, it will be on sale in a month (in the USA the price is $180). There is nothing similar in design, functionality and price on the market. As in the case of BackBeat Pro, the product is in its niche, which guarantees good sales at the end of 2015 and in 2016, the technology here will be relevant in a couple of years. I hope the eco-leather will withstand active use or the ear pads can be replaced.

Be sure to pay attention to Sense, a very interesting gadget.

The shelf of beautiful universal headsets has arrived.

Slim, wireless and portable Plantronics BackBeat SENSE. The first wireless headphones on the market that women absolutely love. It is worth taking note before the New Year.

We'll look at the design, but we'll listen too. Because we, men, are interested in simple things: how they sit and sound. Let's leave the rest to our beauties.

Plantronics - well done

Includes a carrying case with two zippered pockets.

I remember the company from when it flooded the market with affordable Bluetooth headsets - and that was over 10 years ago. Since then, everything has improved: from the approach to the materials of the body to the sound quality.

Today, Plantronics headphones are very good, and not only budget, but also premium models. For example, we had on review - one of the first on the market with active noise cancellation and a decent design. Judging by the comments, many readers later acquired these and do not have souls in them.

very, very light, almost weightless;
made soundly and firmly;
do not look like "burdocks" on the head, it is not a shame to wear;
work for a very long time on a single charge;
have a Russian-speaking AI assistant (need to be flashed);
have one awesome feature.

One awesome feature

There is a small red button on the bottom of one of the headphones. I have been dreaming about it since childhood, when I put on the very first headphones in my life.

Backbeat SENSE can temporarily mute music and reproduce everything that happens around you. By pressing the red key, the track becomes very quiet, and the built-in microphone starts working instead. It turns out that you begin to hear everything that happens around you, but do not take off your headphones.

This is especially important because the SENSE has amazing sound isolation, even better than my current favorites from Bose. Every time you need to hear something, you do not need to pause the track: just turn on this mode.

Cunning: this way you can eavesdrop on others while pretending to listen to music. Microphone amplifies voices ;)

Who needs it: cyclists, motorcyclists, joggers, office workers and students. Anyone who should not completely forget about the world around them for the sake of their safety.

I demand that this feature be added to all wireless headphones on the market. Of course, no one will hear me, which is a pity.

Wear sensor

If you remove your headphones, music playback will pause. And if you put it back on, it starts from the same place. No buttons need to be pressed.

Built in headphones smart sensors, keeping track of whether their owner is wearing them. Also a feature that is missing on other wireless headphones ... By the way, a similar system is in other headphones from Plantronics. For example, in the already mentioned PRO.

They are also good headphones.

Of course, taking SENSE just because of one "spy" function is not worth it. How about great design? I got the white and brown model for the test, and it instantly attracts the eye.

In general, there are two modifications on the market, including black and brown. The latter is emphatically masculine (my IMHO).

The headband was made double for comfortable wearing: the plastic bezel is closed with a soft pad with leather sheathing, and the steel plate with the logo serves as an additional stiffening rib, a kind of bumper that provides strength and minimizes extraneous noise when driving.

The headphones themselves are emphatically large, with a wide soft “cushion” of leather-coated ear pads. Perforation in the center hides the acoustic grid and 40mm open-type drivers. When worn, they do not press And oddly enough, they don't get very hot. Most likely there is an air vent somewhere.

While I was testing them, it just got colder - as it turned out, SENSE can be worn a la a hat for the ears. Warmth plus your favorite music without wires. And the phone should not be reached with trembling hands.

Bluetooth is the future

Now everyone is saying that Apple is about to ditch the audio port in the next iPhone. Therefore, queues will line up for Bluetooth headphones, and many interesting models will appear on the market.

But there is no need to wait for them, because now there is enough choice for every taste. SENSE are perfect as a wireless headset: they have a built-in microphone and remote control for playback (and conversation too). The buttons are not touch-sensitive, for which special thanks. The click is crisp and sharp. Songs change instantly, sound delay is minimal - like the best representatives of the market.

In addition to Bluetooth, the headphones are equipped with an NFC module, thanks to which owners of Android smartphones can “pair” the headset with one touch and bypass the traditional process of finding a device in the BT menu. It also doesn’t hurt to add it to the iPhone, but here Plantronics won’t help us in any way ...

During testing, I threw the headphones into a bag, and several thick walls separated the bag and me more than once. Not a single gap;) Bluetooth Class 1 according to the passport gives up to 100 meters of operating range.

The total battery life of the headphones in wireless mode is “never charged in two weeks.” Okay, according to the passport - 18 hours in the mode of constant work. The figure is not from the ceiling, I now have 10%. Excellent result. According to the manufacturer, it takes 2.5 hours to fully charge.

You can also connect two devices to SENSE at the same time. As soon as the first one stops playing something, the headphones will switch to the second one. And back.

Sound

Wireless headphones are usually not required to sound amazing. Nevertheless, Backbeat SENSE pleased in this regard as well.

To describe briefly: airy, bright, with a biting, but not uterine bass. Modern tracks in the style of trip-hop and EDM are perfectly revealed, I really like the presentation of jazz and instrumental compositions. Bright vocals are also a plus, as is a high volume margin.

There are also disadvantages: the wireless signal will not cope with the powerful cuts of fast power-metal. But I don't think that a bearded metalhead will take ears with such a design :) For the rest, they play exactly as it is pleasant to expect.

I did not like the sound with the wire from the kit (which, by the way, also has a control unit and a microphone). This was expected: when the wireless mode is launched, a DAC and a signal improver work in the headphones, leveling both the shortcomings of BT and some weaknesses of the speakers themselves.

In short, these ears should be listened to without a wire :)